Investment in software companies tops $3 billion in the third quarter of 2012

The software industry received $3.3 billion in funding during the third quarter of 2012, according to a dataset created by WhoGotFunded.

This accounted for just over a quarter of all investments made throughout the same period. In comparison, venture capitalists put forward $12.5 billion through 1,046 funding deals worldwide during July, August and September.

Square took the largest investment for the quarter with a $200 million Series D funding round, followed by Flipkart with $150 million and Zillow with $147 million.

The software industry had a significant lead on both the amount and frequency of investments made in other sectors too. According to the data, the industrial and energy sector received the second highest amount of funding, with $1.9 billion changing hands during 122 deals. It’s a considerable difference.

“The VC funding landscape is in remarkably healthy shape despite the uncertainties in the wider economy,” said Paul Vivant, the CEO of Digimind and founder of WhoGotFunded. “It is particularly encouraging to see that some of the major deals involve disruptive technologies, in divergent areas such as mobile payments, green cars and renewable energy, which have the potential to impact hugely on our everyday lives.”

In the third quarter, investments were strongest throughout September. The month had 466 deals, equalling $5.5 billion in investments. Funds raised in July, meanwhile, totalled $3.8 billion over 282 deals, with August falling slightly further with $3.3 billion over 298 deals.

The data also showed that the United States is still by far the most popular place for venture capitalists to make investments. The top five, according to WhoGotFunded, are as follows:

• USA, with $8.879 milllion raised over 740 deals.
• Great Britain, with $767 million raised over 69 deals.
• Canada, with $498 million raised over 53 deals.
• India, with $489 million raised over 33 deals.
• France, with $138 million raised over 30 deals.

Australia, Israel, China, Germany and Spain took places six to ten respectively.

So who are the most generous investors? When judged by the number of deals, rather than the amount, Accel Partnes came out on top with 21 deals. Sequoia Capital ranked second with 17, followed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, General Catalyst Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and New Enterprise Associates respectively.

The WhoGotFunded website, developed by Digimind, is able to track venture capital deals and funding events across the globe in real-time. The service is said to have amassed more than 6,000 subscribers since it launched in June.

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